Bet Nation fined over responsible gambling and marketing breaches

The Northern Territory Wagering Commission has fined Amused Australia, the owner of bookmaker Bet Nation, a total of $38,556 and demanded its repay over $30,000 in bets to a customer.

The NTWC said the bookmaker had failed to adequately respond to signs of potential gambling harm and continued sending promotional messages after a customer asked to unsubscribe.

It imposed a $27,540 fine for breaches of responsible gambling obligations and a further $11,016 fine for contravening marketing rules. The penalties represent 100 per cent and 40 per cent respectively of the maximum penalties available under the applicable legislation at the time.

The case arose from a complaint by a customer who said he spent more than $20,000 with Bet Nation over a short period and could not recall receiving meaningful responsible gambling intervention. He also alleged the company continued sending marketing material after he requested removal from mailing lists.

The Commission found the customer displayed multiple “red flag” behaviours between late September and early October 2022, including sharply increased deposit frequency, escalating deposit amounts and changes in betting patterns.

While Bet Nation contacted the customer on October 6, the Commission concluded the 88-second responsible gambling call was not sufficient to meet its obligations to assist or protect the customer.

It also found Bet Nation breached marketing requirements after 10 promotional text messages were sent after the customer had requested to be unsubscribed.

The Commission declared all bets placed by the customer from September 28, 2022 onward to be unlawful and said Bet Nation should return the value of affected wagers, adjusted for withdrawals, amounting to $30,161.